By Scott Lyon, Senior Vice President
There is a lot of speculation in the air. Today is September 30 and the Exchange is set to open tomorrow for individuals and small businesses. We already know that the ability for a small business to apply for coverage electronically has been delayed and that the ability for employees of small companies to pick from multiple insurance carriers has also been rescheduled for January 2015. What other changes may come today or in the next few days is very unclear. What is not unclear is that SBAM will stay on top of this to the best of our ability and that we will update SBAM.org and SBAM’s Decision Point, our online tool for everything Affordable Care Act related, as quickly as possible. Check back with us on a regular basis.
Regardless of what happens or does not happen today or tomorrow, the required Exchange Notice is due to your employees by October 1. A specific provision of the Affordable Care Act that impacts ALL employers – regardless of size – takes effect tomorrow. The law states that all employers must provide each employee (both full-time and part-time) with a notice regarding the new Health Insurance Marketplace (exchange) by October 1, 2013.
To be compliant with the Department of Labor, an employer that offers a sponsored health plan to any of their employees should provide a model notice that explains the coverage available and also notifies them of the health insurance exchange. There is a separate model notice for employers that do not offer health insurance as an employee benefit. Going forward, new hires must receive notice within 14 days of their start date of employment. Click here for more information.